serpico3 Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 Hello fellow Drummers , Just recently an interesting development occured to one of my students, I 've been teaching this student for over a year now , he shows great promise, but I noticed as a quick observation a quirk he shows as I guess I've seen in others , young an in such a great hurray to acheive an instant gradifaction, he as of last year purchased a used set of Ludwigs 5 pc, He asked my advice at the time as now I still do advise the following when purchasing a set of drums , many things to be concidered and the list to long to publish here , but heres my point after just one year with this set , he came to me and asked my opinon on purchasing a very large , Yamaha set , in fact 9 Pc, Brand new , Now I'm all for doing whatever is necessary to keep your drumming interest alive and challeging, but I must admit after teaching for many years now , I believe as with myself it takes time to know all the nuances of the set you now have, I told him there are many things he can do with the set he now has to keep that drive fresh and challeging, change the type of heads you use , tune them differently , switch the set up of your kit , his 5 pc , mounted standard , with rack toms mounted on top of bass and floor of to his right side being a right handed drummer , I told him if he wanted to he could invest a little money instead of such a grand sum and still acheive the same goal , Buy a Floor double mounted tom stand to off set the , toms this way your angle is different , and your investment is minnimal , alittle more change your Rims from Triple Flange to die cast this of course is a costly change and should be deliberated on first , I suggest going to a Drum shop and playing on a set with Die Cast rims First , Put a EQ 3 system in your base drum or go to power stroke 3 heads for your Bass Drum, anyway you get the idea , He was Dead set on buying this enormist kit and I told him he may get discouraged to soon to fast by fullfilling that Gradifaction this fast he may get bored later and now he lives himself no avenue to aspire to grow he satisfied his immediate gradifaction now he has what to look forword to. I've owned so many Drum Kits as probably we all have as I got older I held onto my Kits longer only changing simple things and it's held my interest with that kit, When you first get your kit , speaking for myself I took a couple of weeks inspecting every detail of that Kit , Then in set up and Tuning Man that alone will keep you locked in for awhile , Playing it to a proficientcy and comforbility takes awhile , Get to KNOW YOUR KIT, study it find it's sweet spot on each drum a level that works best for you , this all takes time , however if you jump to every new kit hitting the market, visualizing yourself behind only works for a short while. My adise will always be by use a name brand Kit , such as Ludwig,Gretsch and if use make sure they were the top of the line , the hold there resale value better than buying a cheap import even if they look smokin , they are of inferior quality to be sure , and down the road on trade in or sale you will never recapture any of your initial investment whereas a Noted well made Kit use in good shape will always hold a better market value than a brand new no name flashy kit you'will be highly disappointed in later, If your buying a new import set make sure they are of Name quality they are producing some of the best Drum Kits I've ever seen or Heard from Tai Wan now and they are top shelf to be sure , So you know they are quality inspected, You'll know those other kits are , belive me you want no part of them , So Anyway back to my point, Don't be in such a hurray to upgrade your kit , when it's time believe me you'll know when ,and to upgrade your kit you can pick many, many options ,at the right time......serpico3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 Well Serpico: You certainly show some years of great thought and wisdom. I will say this, that although I do not play a Yamaha kit, they are great drums and at the top of the drum heap (if you will). Right up there with Gretsch, Ludwig, Tama, etc. Now regarding the kid and the 9pc Yamaha set over his current 5pc used Ludwigs. We are all guilty at some time in our lives of making those instant gratification purchases. Time has taught me that really they only satisfy you for a few weeks and then the newness wares off. Today's kids are used to instant grits, instant TV, instant movies, instant cable, instant internet, instant meals, instant gratification. Instant entertainment. Your advise will be met with much resistance because junior thinks money comes from the ATM!! I remember my first "real" set of drums. They were road hard and put to bed wet. I took that white marine pearl 4-pc set of Ludwigs apart and shined, polished, painted hoops and inside the shells. I polished the keystone badges. I replaced the heads, I patched cigarette burns off the pearl. I learned that a light acetone removed yellowing from the cigarette burns. (do not do this ... I was young and inexperienced!) The point ... I knew those drums as intimately as I know myself. Now I kick myself for having gotten rid of them ... what was I thinking!?! We live ... we learn! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpico3 Posted July 25, 2001 Author Share Posted July 25, 2001 Thanks DJ for your kind words , I really appreciate them , after reading several of your responses to all of our drumming needs as well as that of advice given to fellow Drummers I can see you are the right man for this job, You yourself show a great insight ,knowledge of the Drumming world ,but better is your compassion, and drive to fullfill all the request asked , this I know must be a heavy load at times , but your Love of the Instrument and and your desire to give back to the drumming community is quite evident , and if no has yet I will extend my Thanks and respect to you for fullfilling such a vital role needed today for all of us in the Drumming family, and thats how I've always felt we are a family all join in the pursuit no matter how inspirerd to play and enjoy one of the greatest instruments ever invented. Again Thanks ,Peace.......serpico3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 Kids think they know it all. I went through the same thing and played a 12 piece for quite some time (horribly I might add).... The little weiner will get it eventually....sounds like they havn't even completed one time around "the circle" yet as in "full circle". And you will see them play someday maybe on a smaller kit or perhaps they will even acknowledge your wisdome at some later point in time. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted July 25, 2001 Share Posted July 25, 2001 Thanks, Serpico: Trying to pay my love for the instrument and music ... forward! Thanks, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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